REVIEWER FOR PRE-FINAL sociology; it essentially deals with the large-
EXAMINATION scale actions of humans, and group mentality
UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY,
AND POLITICS
LESSON 1: The Nature, Goals and
Perspectives of Anthropology, Sociology
and Political Science
1. Anthropology-
-Relates to sociology, it always describes
human, human behaviour and human
societies around the world. It is a comparative
science that examines all societies. The term
anthropology means scientific study of
man or human beings.
Cultural anthropology studies, human
societies and elements of cultural life. An
example of cultural anthropology is the
Linguistic anthropology which focuses on
language in a certain society. The goal of
studying anthropology is to understand the
origin human evolution and the diverse
forms of its existence throughout time
The study of Man and its various aspects is
known as Anthropology. It may be a subject of
science and arts. It is a branch of sociology. It
describes human, human behaviour and
human societies and it examines all societies
around the world. It also describes the
ancestors through time and space in relation
to its environmental, social relations, and
culture
2. Sociology
-Is the study of human social relationships
and institutions. Sociology’s subject matter is
diverse, ranging from crime to religion, from
the family to the state, from the divisions of
race and social class to the shared beliefs of a
common culture, and from social stability to
radical change in whole societies. The purpose
of sociology is to understand how human
action and consciousness both shape and are
shaped by surrounding cultural and social
structures.
Sociology is a social science; it belongs to the
family of social sciences.
As a social science, focuses its aspects on
man, his social manners, social activities and
social life. The goal of sociology is to help you
understand how human action and
consciousness both shape and are shaped by
the surrounding cultural and social structures
3. Political Science
-Is a social science that deals with humans
and their interactions. It is a branch of
it is a discipline that deals with several
aspects such as the study of discovery of state
and government. It deals with the nature and
formation of the state and government. It
deals with the nature and formation of the
state and attempts to understand its forms
and functions. The goal of Political Science is
to constantly deepen the knowledge, discover
progress and protect the quality of life within a
group, community, country, and the world.
Thus, it is the study of power relationships
and competing interests among states around
the world.
4. Anthropological perspectives
-Are culture, cultural relativism, fieldwork,
human diversity, holism, bio-cultural focus.
The four main perspectives of Anthropology
are the cross-cultural or comparative
emphasis, its evolutionary/historical
emphasis, its ecological emphasis, and its
holistic emphasis. An example for this is the
analysis and solutions of the different aspects
of the society such as the environment issues
of pollution, the issues on health and
medicine and other issues related to the
human activities.
5. Sociological perspective
-Introduces the discipline of sociology,
including something about its history,
questions, theory, and scientific methods, and
what distinguishes it from other social science
disciplines. Central features include social
interaction and relationships, social contexts,
social structure, social change, the
significance of diversity and human variation,
and the critical, questioning character of
sociology. It also explores what sociologists do.
Sociology includes three major theoretical
perspectives:
1. the functionalist perspective;
2. the conflict perspective; and
3. the symbolic interaction perspective.
6. Theoretical perspective
-Is used to analyse and explain objects of
social study, and facilitate organizing
sociological knowledge. In functionalist
perspective, societies are thought to function
like organisms, with various social institutions
working together like organs to maintain and
reproduce societies. The conflict perspective
sees social life as a competition, and focuses
on the distribution of resources, power, and
inequality.
7. Political science perspective
-Studies the tendencies and actions of people
which cannot be easily quantified or
examined. Political science is more focused
than most social sciences. It sticks to the
political arena and to the realm of politics,
either dealing with situations with two
competing sides or the lateral decisions that
affect the group as a whole. An example is the
study of democracy as a form of government
and why is democracy considered as the best
form of government.
LESSON 2: MEANING AND NATURE OF
SOCIETY
According to sociologists, a society is a group
of people with common territory, interaction,
and culture. It is a group of people living
together in a definite territory, having a sense
of belongingness, mutually interdependent of
each other, and follow a certain way of life.
Society is derived from the Latin term
“societas”, from socius, which means
companion or associate.
TWO TYPES OF DEFINITION OF SOCIETY
• Functional definition – society is defined as
a complex of groups in reciprocal
relationships, interacting upon one another,
enabling human organisms to carry on their
life-activities.
• Structural definition – society is the total
social heritage of folkways, mores and
institutions; of habits, sentiments and ideals.
CHARACTERISTICS OF SOCIETY
 It is a social system
A social system consists of individuals
interacting with each other. A system consists
of sub-parts whereby a change in one part
affects the other parts.
 It is relatively large
The people must be socially integrated to be
considered relatively large than if the people
are individually scattered.
 It socializes its members
Since most of society’s members are born to it,
they are taught the basic norms and
expectations. Those who come from other
societies, before being accepted as functioning
members, are socialized and taught the basic
norms and expectations of the society.
 It endures, produces and sustains its
members for generations
For society to survive, it must have the ability
to produce, endure and sustain its new
members for at least several generations.
 It holds its members through a
common culture
The individuals in a society are held together
because that society has symbols, norms,
values, patterns of interaction, vision and
mission that are commonly shared by the
members of such society.
 It has clearly-defined geographical
territory
The members in a society must live in a
certain specific habitat or place and have a
common belongingness and sense of purpose.
MAJOR FUNCTIONS OF SOCIETY
A society is important because they have the
following:
1. It provides a system of socialization
Knowledge and skills, dominant patterns of
behavior, moral and social values, and aspects
of personality are transmitted to each
member, especially to the young.
2. It provides the basic needs of its
members
Food, clothing, shelter, medicine, education,
transportations and communication facilities,
among others must be provided by society to
satisfy the basic needs of its member.
3. It regulates and controls people’s
behavior
Conformity to the prevailing norms of conduct
ensures social control. Peace and order are
created through a system of norms and formal
organizations.
4. It provides the means of social
participation
Through social participation, the individuals
in a society learn to interact with each other,
present and discuss their concerns and solve
their own problems or renew their
commitment and values.
5. It provides mutual support to the
members
Mutual support is provided to the members of
society in the form of relief in any form and
solution to problems met by them.
LESSON 3: MEANING AND NATURE OF
CULTURE
Culture is a complex whole which consist of
knowledge, beliefs, ideas, habits, attitudes,
skills, abilities, values, norms, art, law,
morals, customs, traditions, feelings and other
capabilities of man which are acquired,
learned and socially transmitted by man from
one generation to another through language
and living together as members of the society.
CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE
  Learned – Culture is learned, as each
person must learn how to “be” a
member of that culture. Culture is
acquired by being born into a particular
society in the process of enculturation.
 Symbolic – Culture is symbolic, as it
based on the manipulation of symbols.
 Systemic and integrated – Culture is
systemic and integrated as the parts of
culture work together in an integrated
whole.
 Shared – Culture is shared, as it offers
all people ideas about behavior.
 Encompassing – Culture covers every
feature of humanity. Around the world,
people as members of their own
societies establish connections with
each other and form relationship
guided by their respective cultural
practices and values.
ELEMENTS OF CULTURE
 Symbols
It refers to anything that is used to
stand for something else. It is anything
that gives meaning to the culture.
 Language
It is known as the storehouse of
culture. It is a system of words and
symbols used to communicate with
other people.
 Technology
It refers to the application of knowledge
and equipment to ease the task of living
and maintaining the environment.
 Values
These are culturally defined standards
for what is good or desirable. Values
determine how individuals will probably
respond in any given circumstances.
 Beliefs
It refers to the faith of an individual.
They are conceptions or ideas of people
have about what is true in the
environment around them.
 Norms
These are specific rules/standards to
guide for appropriate behavior. These
are societal expectations that mandate
specific behaviors in specific situations.
Types of Norms:
a. Proscriptive norm – defines and tells us
things not to do.
b. Prescriptive norm – defines and tells us
things to do.
TWO COMPONENTS OF CULTURE
1. Material Culture
It consists of tangible things. It refers to the
physical objects, resources, and spaces that
people use to define their culture. Everything
that is created, produced, changed and
utilized by men is included in the material
culture.
2. Non-material Culture
It consists of intangible things. Non‐material
culture refers to the nonphysical ideas that
people have about their culture, including
beliefs, values, rules, norms, morals, and
language.
Forms:
a. Folkways are also known as customs
(customary/repetitive ways of doing things);
they are forms of norms for everyday behavior
that people follow for the sake of tradition or
convenience. Breaking them does not usually
have serious consequences. We have certain
customs that were passed on by our forebears
that make up a large part of our day to day
existence and we do not question their
practicality. Since they are being practiced, it
is expected that we do them also. For example,
we Filipinos eat with our bear hands
b. Mores are strict norms that control moral
and ethical behavior; they are based on
definitions of right and wrong (Arcinas, 2016).
They are norms also but with moral
understones (David and Macaraeg, 2010). For
example, since our country Philippines is a
Christian nation, we are expected to practice
monogamous marriage. So if a person who
has two or more partners is looked upon as
immoral. Polygamy is considered taboo in
Philippine society.
c. Laws are controlled ethics and they are
morally agreed, written down and enforced by
an official law enforcement agency (Arcinas,
2016). They are institutionalized norms and
mores that were enacted by the state to
ensure stricter punishment in order for the
people to adhere to the standards set by
society (David and Macaraeg, 2010).
LESSON 4: MODES OF ACQUIRING
CULTURE
1. Imitation - Children and adults alike have
the tendency to imitate the values, attitudes,
language and all other things in their social
environment. Some of those things imitated
are internalized in their personality and
become a part of their attitude, character and
other behavioral patterns.
2. Indoctrination or Suggestion - This may
take the form of formal training or informal
teaching. Formally, the person learns from
school. Informally, hemay acquire those
behaviors from listening or watching, reading,
attending training activities or through
interaction.
3. Conditioning - The values, beliefs, and
attitudes of other people are acquired through
conditioning. This conditioning can be
reinforced through reward and punishment.
Causes of Cultural Change
1. Discovery is the process of finding a new
place or an object, artefact or anything that
previously existed. For example, the discovery
of fire led to the art of cooking; discovery of oil,
of organisms and substances; of diseases; of
atoms and sources of energy.
2. Invention implies a creative mental process
of devising, creating and producing something
new, novel or original; and also, the utilization
and combination of previously known
elements to produce that an original or novel
product. It could be either social or material or
it could also be invention of new methods or
techniques.
3, Diffusion is the spread of cultural traits or
social practices from a society or group to
another belonging to the same society or to
another through direct contact with each
other and exposure to new forms. It involves
the following social processes:
a. Acculturation – cultural borrowing and
cultural imitation
Example: The Filipinos are said to be the best
English- speaking people of Asia.
b. Assimilation – the blending or fusion of
two distinct cultures through long periods of
interaction
Example: Americanization of Filipino
immigrants to the US
c. Amalgamation – the biological or hereditary
fusion of members of different societies
Example: Marriage between a Filipino and an
American
d. Enculturation – the deliberate infusion of a
new culture to another
Example: The teaching of American history
and culture to the Filipinos during the early
American Regime
4. Colonization refers to the political, social,
and political policy of establishing a colony
which would be subject to the rule or
governance of the colonizing state. For
example, the Hispanization of Filipino culture
when the Spaniards came and conquered the
Philippines.
5. Rebellon and revolutionary movements
aim to change the whole social order and
replace the leadership. The challenge the
existing folkways and mores, and propose a
new scheme of norms, values and organization
Ethnocentrism is a perception that arises
from the fact that cultures differ and each
culture defines reality differently. This
happens when judging another culture solely
by the values and standards of one’s own
culture (Baleña, et.al,2016). This is the
tendency to see and evaluate other cultures in
terms of one’s own race, nation or culture.
This is the feeling or belief that one’s culture
is better than the rest. Whereas,
Xenocentrism is the opposite of
ethnocentrism, the belief that one’s culture is
inferior compared to others. People are highly
influenced by the culture or many culture
outside the realm of their society. This could
be one of the effects of globalization. Exposure
to cultural practices of others may make one
individual or group of individuals to give
preference to the ideas, lifestyle and products
of of other culture.
Cultural relativism is an attempt to judge
behavior according to its cultural context
(Baleña, et.al,2016). It is a principle that an
individual person’s beliefs and activities
should be understood by others in terms of
that individual’s own culture. This concept
emphasizes the perspective that no culture is
superior to any other culture (Arcinas, 2016)
because (a) different socieities have different
moral code; (b) the moral code of a society
determines what is right or wrong within the
society; (c) there are no moral truths that hold
for all people at all times; (d) the moral code of
our own society has no special status, it is but
one among many; and (e) it is arrogant for us
to judge other cultures, so we have to be
tolerant to them.
1. Cultural diversity refers the differentiation
of culture all over the world which means
there is no right or wrong culture but there is
appropriate culture for the need of a specific
group of people.
2. Sub-culture refers to a smaller group
within a larger culture.
3. Counterculture refers cultural patterns
that strongly oppose those widely accepted
within a society (example in the 1960” s
counter culture among teenagers reflect long
hair, blue jeans, peace sign, rock and roll
music and drug abuse).
4. Culture lag is experienced when some
parts of the society do not change as fast as
with other parts and they are left behind
5. Culture shock is the inability to read steadily using fingers. This capacity was
meaning in one’s surroundings, feeling of lost crucial for tool making activities.
and isolation, unsure to act as a consequence
• Our Speaking Capacity
of being outside the symbolic web of culture
that binds others. As the brain is the capacity source of humans’
capacity to comprehend sound and provide
6. Ideal culture refers to the social patterns
meaning to it, the vocal tract acts as the
mandated by cultural values and norms.
mechanism by which sounds are produced
7. Real culture refers to the actual patterns and reproduced to transmit ideas and values.
that only approximate cultural expectations.
• Our Walking / Standing Capacity
8. High culture refers to the cultural patterns
Primates have two forms of locomotion:
that distinguish a society’s elite
bipedalism and quadrupedalism. Bipedalism
9. Popular culture refers to the cultural is the capacity to walk and stand on two feet,
patterns that are widespread among a whereas quadrupedalism uses all four limbs.
society’s population. Being bipedal, humans gained more capacity
to move while carrying objects with their free
10. Culture change is the manner by which
hands. It gave humans more capacity or
culture evolves.
productivity with their hands like hunting and
LESSON 5: HUMAN CAPACITY FOR foraging.
CULTURE
THE EARLY TYPES OF SOCIETIES
Culture is the by-product of the attempt of
humans to survive their environment and to
compensate for their biological characteristics
and limitations. As our ancestors evolved
biologically in response to their environment,
they have also developed cultural technologies
that aided them to efficiently obtain food and
deter predators.
Evolution is a natural process of biological
changes occurring in a population across
successive generations. It helps us identify
and analyze man’s physiological development
and eventually the emergence of different
society.
FOUR BIOLOGICAL CAPACITY OF HUMAN
TO DEVELOP CULTURE
• Our Thinking Capacity
The primary biological component of humans
that allowed for culture is the developed brain.
THE LEGACY OF EARLY HUMANS TO
It has the necessary parts for facilitating
CONTEMPORARY POPULATION
pertinent skills such as speaking, touching,
feeling, seeing, and smelling. The United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is the
• Our Gripping Capacity
primary transnational entity that manages
The hand of human has digits (fingers) that and negotiates matters relating to human
are straights, as compared with the curved heritage.
ones of the other primates. Notice that the
Cultural Heritage is not limited to material
thumb of the human is proportionately longer
manifestations, such as monuments and
than those of other primates. These
objects that have been preserved over time.
characteristics of the human hand allowed for
This notion also encompasses living
two types of “grip” power and precision. Power
expressions and the traditions that countless
grip enabled humans to wrap the thumb and
groups and communities worldwide have
fingers on an object; it became the
inherited from their ancestors and transmit to
cornerstone of our capacity to hold tool firmly
their descendants, in most cases, orally.
for hunting and other activities. Precision grip
enabled humans to hold and pick objects Two-Part Meaning of Cultural Heritage
1. Tangible in the form of structures,
monuments, historical sites, and other
artifacts.
Tangible heritage could be divided into two
categories:
• Movable – tangible heritage pieces are
often removed from the sites where they were
found and transferred to museums for
Cultural and Sociopolitical Development
safekeeping and maintenance.
The physical as well as the mental
• Immovable – tangible heritage pieces
development of early human beings helped
are often left to the elements of nature (i.e.,
them understand and adapt to their existing
rain, wind, sand, sun), which makes them
environment. Thus, their adjustment served
vulnerable to decay and corrosion.
as the onset of their culture. Culture enables
2. Intangible in the form of literature, the members of society to develop ways of
oral, traditions, concepts, and values. coping with exigencies of nature as well as
ways of harnessing their environment
HUMAN CAPACITY FOR CULTURE (Panopio, et.al 1994). The changes made by
Evolution is a natural process of biological man through his interaction with the
changes occurring in a population across environment establish the different cultural
successive generations (Banaag, 2012). It evolution which determines man’s socio-
helps us identify and analyze man’s cultural development.
physiological development and eventually the
emergence of different society. Moreover,
man’s progression and characteristics are
essential in understanding the capability for
adaptation. Most scientists currently recognize
some 15 to 20 different species of early
humans.